Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Advertising

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Steve Baker: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether capital funding for shared and integrated education was included in the Assembly restoration financial settlement.

Mr Steve Baker: The UK Government is providing the Executive with a significant £3.3 billion spending settlement to stabilise its finances and protect public services. Within this package, we are increasing the spending power of the Executive by repurposing over £700 million of existing and new UK Government funds.The Fresh Start agreement in 2015 made provision for funding for integrated and shared education over 10 years. As that capital funding was due to expire at the end of 2024-25, the decision to remove the ring-fence on £150m of Fresh Start Agreement funding was made by the UK Government after assessing existing funding in Northern Ireland. We came to a considered position in response to the challenging budgetary position faced by the Northern Ireland Executive.The Northern Ireland Executive will be able to decide how it uses the non-ring fenced funding element of reprioritised and new UK Government funding streams which contribute to the settlement package.

Cabinet Office

Keir Starmer

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether government resources have been used for research on the Leader of the Opposition.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any staff in (a) his Department and (b) 10 Downing Street sent messages to the media by (i) email, (ii) text, (iii) WhatsApp and (iv) other social media messaging services on the career of the Leader of the Opposition between 5 September 2023 and 8 February 2024.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Downing Street (a) office space, (b) computer equipment, (c) printers and (d) stationery have been used in the (i) preparation, (ii) production and (iii) dissemination of research on the Leader of the Opposition.

Alex Burghart: As has been the case under successive Administrations, the Prime Minister is assisted by special advisers in preparation for the Parliamentary exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions with the Leader of His Majesty’s Opposition.All activity is undertaken in line with the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct. Such exchanges are available to the hon. Member in the Official Report.More broadly, such work is led by staff of the governing party (as evident by the answer of 6 June 2023, Official Report, PQ 186524; deposited paper DEP2023-0475).

Government Departments: Energy

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce energy bills across government.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office supports departments and coordinates across government to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs. The 2022-2030 Government Property Strategy sets out how the estate will be transformed to become more efficient and sustainable.The Government Buying Standard for Construction requires new build developments to meet BRE’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘Excellent’ or equivalent standards, while refurbishment projects have a target of ‘Very Good’, ensuring new and upgraded properties meet high standards of energy efficiency.In addition, Crown Commercial Services has developed an energy procurement strategy that has delivered significant commercial benefits from aggregation of government buying power and hedging future demand on commodity markets.

Government Departments: Consultants

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent on consultants across Government in the financial year 2022-3.

Alex Burghart: Government Departments draw on the advice of external specialists for a range of services. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation and may include the identification of options with recommendations.Departments' total spend on consultancy in 2022/23 can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments

Refugees: Afghanistan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans that all eligible under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be relocated from (i) Iran, (ii) Pakistan and (iii) other third countries to the UK.

Johnny Mercer: The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including over 21,600, people eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) schemes, as of September 2023. The Government is committed to relocating all eligible persons who remain in Pakistan and third countries as soon as possible, and have made significant progress in the last few months.

Civil Servants

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full time equivalent civil service personnel there were in (a) 2019 and (b) 2024.

John Glen: National Statistics on the number of civil servants are published each quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their Public Sector Employment statistical release. The latest available statistics were published 12 December 2023 and showed the number of civil servants as at 30 September 2023. The next ONS publication is scheduled for release on 12 March and will show the number of civil servants as at 31 December. Statistics for 2019 and all previous and upcoming releases can be found on the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable

Public Sector: Employment

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full time equivalent non-civil service public sector administrators there were in (a) 2019 and (b) 2024.

John Glen: Information on the number of non-civil service public sector administrators is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Public Sector: Recruitment

John Redwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there are controls on external recruitment of (a) new and (b) replacement (i) civil servants and (ii) other public sector administrators.

John Glen: There are specific statutory provisions in place that control all appointments to new and replacement Civil Service roles arising from external recruitment. The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires that selection to the Civil Service must be on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. The Civil Service Commission has a statutory duty to ensure that the merit requirement is upheld and is not being undermined. The Commission’s interpretation of this statutory requirement is outlined to Civil Service departments in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles 2018. The Aliens’ Employment Act 1955 outlines the eligibility for employment in the Civil Service on the grounds of nationality. The Cabinet Office has published the Civil Service Nationality Rules on Gov.uk to support departments in the interpretation of this statutory requirement. The Civil Service Management Code delegates authority to individual departments to determine their recruitment approach within the scope of these statutory requirements. Additional policy provisions can be applied such as the Civil Service Recruitment Framework. Since January 2016, the Framework has been committed to opening up all Senior Civil Service (SCS) vacancies by advertising them externally to the public by default. In May 2022, this commitment was strengthened, requiring departments to obtain approval from the responsible minister when seeking to limit an SCS vacancy to existing civil servants only. For other public administrators outside of the Civil Service, it would be down to their respective organisations to comment on whether they have such controls in place.

Civil Servants: Re-employment

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) male and (b) female former civil servants have applied for reinstatement after taking time off for caring responsibilities in the last five years.

John Glen: The information requested is not held by the Government Recruitment Service (GRS). Reinstatements are managed by each individual Department who will hold their own data rather than centrally by GRS.

Civil Servants: Re-employment

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of reinstating former civil servants on public finances.

John Glen: Individual departments are responsible for the recruitment of their staff and are able to set their own policies accordingly, subject to the framework of instructions set out in the Civil Service Management Code and the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. This includes the reinstatement of former civil servants under exception five of the Recruitment Principles.

Department of Health and Social Care

Question

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on increasing access to dentists.

Victoria Atkins: On 7 February, we published our Dentistry Recovery Plan to increase patients’ access to NHS dentistry across the country, including in Norfolk.  On 1 March, one element – the New Patient Premium went live, to increase the number of appointments available.  We will keep the House updated on this and the many other measures set out in the Plan, including our work to reform the dental contract in the longer term.

Clinical Priorities Advisory Group

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times a year NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group prioritisation meetings take place; and what the dates are for each meeting in 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: Clinical Priorities Advisory Group prioritisation meetings are held once per year. NHS England aims to hold the next prioritisation meeting on either 20 or 21 of May 2024.

Health Services: Ethnic Groups

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which ethnicity codes are collected by NHS services.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether ethnicity codes used in the NHS are in line with the (a) 2001 and (b) 2011 Census codes.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help ensure NHS services record ethnicity data in line with the 2021 Census categories.

Andrew Stephenson: The current Information Standard for collection of ‘Ethnic Category’ uses the seventeen classifications set out in the 2001 census, which are available at the following link:https://www.datadictionary.nhs.uk/attributes/ethnic_category_code_2001.htmlThe information standard also allows for the collection of a wider range of ethnic classifications. However, as stated in the 2001 Information Standard, ‘these more detailed categories are purely optional and for local use in any way or not at all, provided that any such use does not cut across the national standard.’The issue of equality monitoring, by reference to ethnicity and the other eight protected characteristics, is being considered at national level under the programme called the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UISPC). Evaluating the use of the 2021 ethnicity census categories is part of this programme. The UISPC Publication Steering Group is reporting to NHS England and the Department this year which will inform a view on the next steps, including any plans for publication and any consultation and implementation timetable.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether postural tachycardia syndrome is a rare disease as defined in the UK Rare Diseases Framework.

Andrew Stephenson: The UK Rare Diseases Framework defines rare diseases as having a prevalence of lower than one in 2000 people. Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) UK has estimated the prevalence of PoTS to be 0.2%, or four in 2000 people, which is higher than the definition of a rare disease under the framework.The Government recognises the significant impact that PoTS symptoms can have on an individual’s life, and is committed to ensuring those with PoTS have timely access to a diagnosis and appropriate treatment and services.

Obesity: Drugs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled New drugs pilot to tackle obesity and cut NHS waiting lists, published on 7 June 2023, what her Department's timetable is for launching the obesity drugs pilot.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is committed to the safe introduction of the newest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved weight loss drugs into the National Health Service. NHS England is leading on the design and development of the pilots which will consider how to safely prescribe these treatments outside of a hospital setting, with wraparound support provided in the community or digitally. We are working with NHS England to finalise the pilots, and further details will be available in due course.

NHS: Vacancies

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies there are in the NHS in each (a) region and (b) integrated care board.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England publishes vacancy statistics for National Health Service trusts in England, on a quarterly basis. They cover the total staffing vacancies, medical vacancies, and registered nursing vacancies. The information published includes full time equivalent vacancy numbers and rates by NHS region. These measure the difference between funded establishment posts, and those filled by substantive staff. They do not indicate where vacancies are currently filled with temporary staff, and therefore do not equate to unfilled shifts. The latest figures can be found at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey/april-2015---december-2023-experimental-statisticsThe underlying data supplied by NHS trusts is not usually aggregated and presented at an integrated care board level, however, it has been compiled in the attached file.

Kidney Diseases: Health Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of chronic kidney disease among high-risk groups.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that patients diagnosed with early stage chronic kidney disease are monitored for disease progression.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance, Chronic kidney disease: Assessment and management [NG203], updated in November 2021, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The guidance covers: monitoring for those patients at risk; pharmacological management; and referral where appropriate. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng203 In addition to evidence-based guidance to support clinicians in diagnosing problems of the kidney, we are also working to detect people at risk of kidney disease through the NHS Health Check Programme. The programme, which is available for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 years old, who are not already on a chronic disease register, assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. Using this information, patients are supported to make behavioural changes and access treatment which helps to prevent and detect kidney disease earlier.NHS England, through the Renal Services Transformation programme and regional renal networks, is undertaking a series of initiatives to provide better and more joined-up care across care settings, reduce health inequalities, and focus on prevention and timely intervention through streamlined patient pathways, to address the management of deteriorating kidney disease. Regional renal clinical networks have already prioritised CKD diagnosis and prevention of progression within their transformation ambitions. This includes considerations to develop a unified approach to testing populations at risk of developing CKD, with a view to earlier treatment and raising the profile for the use of specific drugs in the early management of patients diagnosed with the disease. The transformation programme launched a renal toolkit earlier last year for use by care systems, that outlines principles to support better management of patients identified with CKD throughout their patient journey.The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) reviewed CKD and glomerulonephritis in 2011, concluding that a population-wide screening programme would not be recommended. The UK NSC has not looked at the evidence for a targeted programme. The UK NSC can be alerted to any new published, peer-reviewed evidence which may suggest the case for a new screening programme. Proposals to change or review a topic early can be submitted via the UK NSC’s annual call which will open in July 2024.  More information can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal

Department of Health and Social Care: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has contributed £1,013,354 in levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023. During the same period, the Department spent £354,742 from the levy fund.

Drugs: Licensing

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent staff worked in the MHRA on the licensing of new medicines, biosimilars and generics in each of the last 5 years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has estimated the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff who have worked in the MHRA on the licensing of new medicines, biosimilars, and generics for 2019 to 2022, which are: - 255 FTE staff in 2019;- 230 FTE staff in 2020;- 219 FTE staff in 2021; and- 178 FTE staff in 2022. Between 2021 and 2023 the MHRA underwent a significant process of transformation and changes to the structure and function of the operating groups across the agency. Throughout this period, there were a range of professionals across the agency working on the licensing of new medicines, biosimilars, and generics. However, the information required to answer this question in full is not available, as the data is unvalidated. Staffing levels at the MHRA fell between June 2021 and December 2022 due to the One Agency Transformation Programme, as detailed in the MHRA’s Delivery Plan 2021-2023. During this transformation, the MHRA prioritised filling vacancies with contingent resources until the conclusion of the organisational change element of the transformation. This decision was made in order to minimise impact on Civil Servant roles. Since then, the MHRA has been successfully recruiting into the new structure.

Dental Services: Suffolk Coastal

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an estimate of the number of units of dental activity (a) awarded and (b) fulfilled per dentist in Suffolk Coastal constituency per year since 2008.

Andrea Leadsom: Data on the Units of Dental Activity (UDA) commissioned and delivered is published each month on the NHS Business Services Authority Open Data Portal, and is available at the following link:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-contractor-monthly-general-dental-activity  The portal currently holds data from April to November 2023. Data on the UDA awarded and fulfilled before April 2023 will be published soon.

Dental Services

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the (a) highest, (b) lowest, (c) average and (d) median rate for a unit of dental activity in (i) Suffolk Coastal constituency, (ii) Suffolk, (iii) inner London, (iv) outer London, (v) Sheffield and (vi) England in financial year 2023-24.

Andrea Leadsom: Data is published on the total financial value of contracts, as well as the total number of units of dental activity (UDA) commissioned, on the NHS Business Services Authority’s Open Data Portal. This data is available at the following link:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-contractor-monthly-general-dental-activityFrom this data, the requested UDA values can be calculated by taking the total financial value, and dividing it by the number of UDAs commissioned. Currently the portal holds monthly data, from April to November 2023.

General Practitioners: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing levels of GP recruitment and retention.

Andrea Leadsom: Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for the fantastic work of general practice. We are committed to increasing the number of doctors in general practice and I can tell my honourable friend that there were nearly 2,800 more full-time equivalent doctors in general practice in December 2023 compared to December 2019, and that in 2022 we saw a record 4,032 trainees accept a place on GP training, up from 2,671 in 2014. Finally, training places will rise to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025.

Nurses: Training

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many training places for nursing students there were in England in the 2023-24 financial year; and how many places there will be in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year.

Andrew Stephenson: Since 2017, universities have set the number of available nursing training places based on market demand. The Department does not set figures for the number of places. Data published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service shows that the number of accepted applicants to undergraduate nursing courses in England for 2023 was 20,790.The NHS Long term Workforce Plan published in June 2023 outlines the nursing training intakes which underpin the plans ambitions across academic rather than financial years, and NHS England will work with the university sector to help achieve this. Across all nursing training intakes, including undergraduate, postgraduate and apprenticeships, these are 32,124 in 2025 academic year, and 33,981 in 2026 academic year.

Question

Christine Jardine: What progress her Department has made on improving access to GP appointments.

Andrea Leadsom: Thanks to the efforts of superb GPs up and down the country, in England there is now a record additional 50 million appointments per year being made available.Our Primary Care Recovery Plan for England is focussed on improving access for patients and reducing bureaucracy for GPs.Health is devolved to Scotland and I’m sure the honourable lady will use our excellent record to challenge SNP Ministers on their performance.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Lists

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients are on the waiting list for an echocardiogram.

Andrew Stephenson: Data on patients waiting for the test “Cardiology – Echocardiography” is publicly available in the DM01 Data set, which can be found in at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

Question

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle medicine shortages.

Andrew Stephenson: I know how distressing medicine shortages can be for patients and their families. The Department works with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS, MHRA and others and uses a range of tools to help manage issues, such as securing supplies from alternative manufacturers, expediting deliveries and where necessary, enabling use of different products.Supply disruption is unfortunately a common issue affecting countries around the world. Whilst issues can’t always be prevented, in the vast majority of cases they can be managed with minimal disruption to patients.

Department of Health and Social Care: Press

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has paid for subscriptions to the following publications in the last three financial years:- print editions of all national daily newspapers together with online editions of the Telegraph, Times and Financial Times;- The New Statesman;- The Spectator;- Economist Nursing Times;- Private Eye;- The Voice;- Health Service Journal;- GP Online;- Pulse;- Health Policy Insight;- New England Journal of Medicine;- Journal of American Medicine;- Nature;- Bloomberg;- PR Week; and- I News. The cost of the subscriptions totalled approximately £7,700 per year in financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 and precisely £7718.08 in 2022/23.

Question

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to mental health services.

Maria Caulfield: We increased investment in mental health services by close to a billion pounds in 2022-23 compared to the previous year, with almost £16 billion going on mental health care. This enabled 3.6 million people to access mental health support, a 10% increase from 2021-22.We are also funding 24 early support hubs for young people across England, one of which will serve constituents in the Honourable Member’s Luton constituency.

Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made towards the target coverage for non-specific symptom pathways by March 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: Information provided by NHS England shows that in England, by December 2023, there were 113 Non-Specific Symptom (NSS) pathways live, with over 5,500 patients seen per month and a total of over 100,000 referrals since May 2020. By March 2024, NHS England plans that the NSS programme will achieve full population coverage across England for non-specific symptom pathways, as set out in the 2023/24 NHS Planning Guidance.

Maternity Services: Ethnic Groups

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 12 of the Fifth Special Report of Session 2022–23 of the Women and Equalities Committee entitled Black maternal health: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report, published on 30 June 2023, HC 1611, what the outcome was of the scoping exercise undertaking by NHS England on (a) the implications of co-ordinating the Maternal Health Disparities review and (b) assessing how to bring relevant stakeholders together.

Maria Caulfield: The scoping work, to fully understand the implications of co-ordinating this review and determining the best way to bring the relevant stakeholders together, has not yet started.

Hospital Beds: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beds were occupied by patients ready to be discharged in NHS hospitals in Dorset; and how many of these patients had been awaiting discharge for more than (a) three days, (b) seven days and (c) a month on the most recent date for which data is available.

Helen Whately: On 31 January 2024, there were 308 patients with No Criteria To Reside (NCTR) in acute hospitals in Dorset, 77 patients in Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust and 231 patients in University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.NHS England publishes data on the proportion of patients discharged on their discharge-ready date and the lengths of delay for those discharged after this date, up to a delay of 21 days or more. The latest published figures are for December 2023.For Dorset County Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 91% of patients were discharged on their discharge-ready date. Of the 9% of patients who were discharged after this date, 47.6% were delayed four or more days, 32% were delayed seven or more days, and 10.7% were delayed 21 or more days.For University Hospitals Dorset Foundation Trust, 84.2% of patients were discharged on their discharge-ready date. Of the 15.8% of patients discharged after this date, 50.4% were delayed four or more days, 33.5% were delayed seven or more days, and 9% were delayed 21 or more days.

Care Homes: Rural Areas

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to help improve access to care homes in rural communities.

Helen Whately: Under the Care Act, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people. Last year we launched Care Quality Commission assurance of local authorities’ delivery of their Care Act duties, and all local authorities will be assessed over the next two years. We have also committed to setting national standards for commissioners and are investing in a pilot training programme for senior commissioners to improve practice and drive more consistency at local level.The Government has also made available up to £8.6 billion in additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge. This includes nearly £2 billion over two years specifically through the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) and MSIF Workforce Fund. Both are designed to support increased adult social care capacity and improvements to adult social care services.

Integrated Care Boards

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS England on the adequacy of integrated care board performance reports.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of integrated care boards in financial year 2022-23.

Helen Whately: The Department undertakes regular discussion with NHS England on the performance and oversight of integrated care boards (ICBs).NHS England conducted an annual performance assessment of the ICBs for 2022/23, from July 2022 to March 2023, and published supporting guidance for the ICBs.NHS England published a summary of the assessment reports as part of its 2022/23 Annual Report and Accounts. All ICBs also published their individual Annual Reports and Accounts for 2022/23 on their websites. The Department is working with NHS England on its approach to the annual performance assessment for 2023/24.

Health Services

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the recovery support programme in (a) embedding improvements, (b) preventing further deterioration and (c) enabling stabilisation of services for the (i) Norfolk and Waveney, (ii) Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and (iii) Devon Integrated Care Board.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average target timeline for exit from the Recovery Support Programme for those ICBs in segment 4.

Helen Whately: A formal rapid evaluation of the Recovery Support Programme’s effectiveness has been jointly commissioned by the Department and NHS England. This is due to be completed in spring 2024.

Blood: Contamination

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have died since being (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions in Liverpool, Walton constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department does not hold information on the number of people who have died since being treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions in Liverpool, Walton constituency.

Blood: Contamination

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who were (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions by the NHS in Liverpool, Walton constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department does not hold information on the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in the Liverpool, Walton constituency.

Blood: Contamination

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what psychological support is available for people infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products in Liverpool, Walton constituency.

Maria Caulfield: Psychological support is available for those who are beneficiaries of the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), and their families. The EIBSS provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members to access counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved talking therapies. In August 2022, this offer was expanded to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing or longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-supportA bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed, intended to go live in early Summer 2024.

Suicide

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether suicide prevention funding for local authorities will be extended beyond April 2024.

Maria Caulfield: The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England is supported by a wide range of Government funded activity, that will support people’s mental health. This includes an increase in mental health spending of £4.6 billion between 2018/19 and 2023/24, compared to the original £3.4 billion set out at the time of the NHS Long Term Plan’s publishing. Of this, £57 million has been specifically for suicide prevention and suicide bereavement services in all areas of the country. Future funding beyond the Long Term Plan is yet to be determined. From 2021 to 2025 we will have made over £15 million available to support suicide prevention in voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations through our suicide prevention grant funds.

Menopause: Mental Health Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average waiting time for cognitive behavioural therapy for women with menopausal symptoms in London.

Maria Caulfield: Improving care and support for menopause is a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy. It is important that all women experiencing the menopause have access to information and options to enable them to choose the best care to suit them. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines currently recommend that that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be recommended for low mood or anxiety that arises as a result of the menopause.CBT is offered as part of the NHS Talking Therapies services. The latest data for NHS Talking Therapies in the London region shows that 35,410 females, including trans women, accessed National Health Service funded treatment during the period from October to December 2023. Of these, 91% completing treatment waited less than six weeks for their first appointment, against a target of 75%, and 98% completing treatment waited less than 18 weeks, against a target of 95%. Data is not collected separately for CBT, which is one type of talking therapy. Data is also not collected separately for females with menopausal symptoms. This data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors/performance-december-2023-and-quarter-3-2023-24-data

Mental Health Services: Death

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department collates data on patients that die while under the care of a mental health provider.

Maria Caulfield: The Department doesn't collect data on deaths in this group directly, but relies on data from several other sources. Under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009: Regulation 17, providers have a legal duty to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the deaths of people detained, or liable to be detained, under the Mental Health Act. This data is routinely published in the CQC’s Monitoring the Mental Health Act annual report. However, this only covers people liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act, not voluntary inpatients, and not those under other secondary mental health services. There is no national notification system for the Department, for deaths within this group. All deaths must be registered, and deaths that appear to be sudden or violent, or deaths that occur in state custody, for instance where someone is detained under the Mental Health Act, must be referred to a coroner for an inquest to determine the cause of death. In a case where the coroner concludes that action can be taken to prevent future deaths, they can choose to issue a Section 28 report addressed to the individual or organisation they believe can take that action. All deaths of patients under Tier 4 care of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, are reported to ministers. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health uses death registrations and engagement with clinicians to identify deaths by suicide, by people in contact with mental health services, including both inpatients and people being cared for in the community.

Mobile Phones: Health Hazards

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will ask the Chief Medical Officers to update their review of the potential impact of mobile phone usage from a young age on children's development.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education recently reviewed the evidence, and found that there is still no clear scientific consensus of a negative impact of screentime and social media use on the mental health, or neurological or functional development of children and young people, and concerns are generally not supported through population-level data. Whilst further research is needed to better understand these issues, there are no plans to ask the Chief Medical Officers to update their review.

Mental Health: Construction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to improve the mental health and wellbeing of people working in the construction industry.

Maria Caulfield: Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government is providing record levels of investment, and increasing the mental health workforce, to expand and transform the mental health services provided by the National Health Service. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, NHS spending on mental health is forecast to have increased by £4.6 billion, compared to the target of £3.4 billion, as set out at the time of the Long Term Plan’s publishing.Additionally, as announced at the Autumn Statement, we are investing £795 million of additional funding, which will increase the number of sessions per course of Talking Therapies treatment and broaden access, leading to an expected additional 384,000 people completing a course of treatment by 2028/29. It will also fund an additional 100,000 Individual Placement and Support places over five years, which will help people with severe mental illness gain and retain paid employment.

Construction: Suicide

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to help reduce the number of suicides of construction workers.

Maria Caulfield: The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published September 2023, sets out over 100 actions that will reduce the suicide rate within two and a half years. It is a multi-sector and cross-Government suicide strategy, with actions from a wide range of organisations that will be delivered over the next few years. It seeks to address common risk factors linked to suicide at a population level, some of which will be factors relevant to construction workers, to provide early intervention and tailored support.

Maternity Disparities Taskforce

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to assess the effectiveness of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce.

Maria Caulfield: The Maternity Disparities Taskforce brings together experts from across the health system, the Government, and the voluntary sector to explore and consider evidence-based interventions to tackle disparities in maternity outcomes and experience.The taskforce is currently focused on developing a targeted pre-pregnancy toolkit which will encourage healthy behaviours and planning for pregnancy, by supporting women to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing. Once rolled out, the toolkit will be assessed for effectiveness against its aims.

Maternal Mortality

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timescale is for rolling out the maternal morbidity indicator.

Maria Caulfield: The Department recognises the importance of monitoring near-misses and severe maternal morbidity, and continues to consider how a maternal morbidity indicator can be implemented. No timescales for a national rollout of the indicator have been set.NHS England has developed 14 Maternal Medicine Networks (MMN) across England to ensure that all women with chronic and acute medical problems around pregnancy, for instance diabetes or heart disease, have access to specialist management and care from physicians and obstetrics, tackling the biggest contributors to maternal mortality. The Department is in the process of commissioning the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Unit for Maternal and Neonatal Health, to undertake research into developing an MMN-specific maternal morbidity outcome indicator, and provide the prevalence of current morbidity as a baseline for ongoing monitoring.

Surgery: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in Halton constituency have been waiting for elective care more that (a) 12 and (b) 18 months.

Andrew Stephenson: The information is not held in the format requested. Data is collected on patients waiting over 52 weeks, 65 weeks and 78 weeks, with more information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2023-24/#Dec23

Streptococcus: Preventive Medicine

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent (a) death and (b) serious illness of (i) mothers and (ii) babies from Group B Streptococcal Infection.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a key role in combatting Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection both through routine service activities and innovative research. Trends, characteristics, and outcomes of infection are monitored through surveillance, vital for prevention efforts, providing means to understand differential risk within our population, which has informed guidance change. Emergence of new strains is monitored at the reference laboratory, vital to understanding the potential vaccine coverage and escape once vaccines are licensed. Furthermore, genomic assessment of strains identified the presence clusters, an important finding highlighting the potential for spread of infection within hospitals.The Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre at UKHSA Porton Down is part of an international consortium funded by the Gates Foundation to develop standardised assays to quantify immune responses to GBS in natural immunity studies and vaccine trials.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in the Borough of Halton are waiting for (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments; and what the average waiting times are for such assessments.

Maria Caulfield: Data on the number of children on a waiting list for an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not held centrally, but may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners. The Cheshire and Merseyside integrated care board (ICB) has provided data on the number of children awaiting an ADHD assessment, and state that at the end of January 2024, there were 230 children awaiting an assessment in Halton. The longest wait time for an ADHD assessment in Halton is 53 weeks, with an average wait time for assessment and outcome or diagnosis of 46 weeks.The Department is exploring options for improving national data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way, and in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on ADHD. The National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD assessment waiting time data collection.With respect to autism, NHS England publishes data on how many people are waiting for an autism diagnosis and for how long, which provides useful information nationally and locally to support local areas in improving their performance and reducing assessment and diagnosis waiting times. Data is not available publicly for the Borough of Halton, but is available publicly for the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, and therefore the ICB has provided data on numbers of children waiting for autism assessments in Halton. As of the end of January 2024, they state there were 848 children awaiting autism assessment in Halton. The longest wait time for an autism assessment panel and outcome or diagnosis in Halton is 107 weeks.The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB advises that it is working with providers to increase capacity, and has put waiting list initiatives in place to help reduce waiting times for autism assessments. The ICB also commissions pre and post diagnosis support for children and young people on autism and ADHD waiting lists, and is planning on commissioning a coordinator role to support families whilst they are waiting for neurodevelopmental assessments.

Streptococcus

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the review of the list of notifiable diseases as part of proposed amendments to the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010, if he will take steps to add Group B Streptococcal Infection in schedule 1 of those Regulations.

Maria Caulfield: Following a review of the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 by the Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Government published a public consultation between 12 July and 15 November 2023, seeking views on proposed amendments to the regulations.Adding Group B Streptococcal Infection to schedule 1 of the regulations was not included in the consultation proposals, but a small number of respondents suggested it could be suitable for inclusion.A summary of responses to the consultation has been published. The Department and UKHSA are considering the consultation responses, and confirmation of any changes to the regulations will be published in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Wandsworth Prison: Prison Officers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were off sick at HMP Wandsworth on the first Monday of each month in each of the last 12 months.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were on long-term sick leave at HMP Wandsworth on the first Monday of each month in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The requested information is shown in the tables below.Number of Prison Officers at HMP Wandsworth on short-term sick leave, Mar 2023 – Feb 2024:Date6 Mar3 Apr1 May5 Jun3 Jul7 Aug4 Sep2 Oct6 Nov4 Dec1 Jan5 FebNumber of Prison Officers on short-term sick leave1710658121181271414 Number of Prison Officers at HMP Wandsworth on long-term sick leave, Mar 2023 – Feb 2024:Date6 Mar3 Apr1 May5 Jun3 Jul7 Aug4 Sep2 Oct6 Nov4 Dec1 Jan5 FebNumber of Prison Officers on long-term sick leave141314871411116578Note:Long-term sickness is defined as a period of sickness consisting of 29 or more calendar days.HMP Wandsworth has robust weekly absence management processes in place to ensure that those who are absent because of sickness are being appropriately managed. This includes a review of all sickness absence (short and long-term), the reason for absences and ensuring appropriate support is being provided where required.Those on continuing long-term sickness absence will be managed through a Formal Absence Review Meeting with the Governor, to explore whether they are fit to remain employed or if they can return to work in a different role.HMPPS is focused on reducing its sickness absence rates through the support currently offered to staff and managers, including a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme that provides the workforce with access to confidential support and counselling services. This is in addition to the organisation’s Occupational Health Service that supports staff and management with medical advice, and HMPPS’ multitude of staff networks that are part of HMPPS’ commitment to ensuring our staff feel supported in their roles.

Wandsworth Prison: Prison Officers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were in (a) training or (b) probation at HMP Wandsworth on the first Monday of each month in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The requested information is shown in the tables below.Number of Prison Officers in initial training at HMP Wandsworth, Mar 2023 – Feb 2024:Date6 Mar3 Apr1 May5 Jun3 Jul7 Aug4 Sep2 Oct6 Nov4 Dec1 Jan5 FebNumber of Prison Officers in initial training161718182531341824484874 Number of Prison Officers on probation at HMP Wandsworth, Mar 2023 – Feb 2024:Date6 Mar3 Apr1 May5 Jun3 Jul7 Aug4 Sep2 Oct6 Nov4 Dec1 Jan5 FebNumber of Prison Officers on probation495253514844425862546166 The officers in the above table are those on probation during their first 12 months in post. Ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain levels of experience are fundamental to delivering quality outcomes in prisons. That is why we are targeting the drivers of staff resignations and taking steps to improve recruitment levels through innovative approaches such as support under the national HMPPS Brand campaign and our use of incentives scheme to target prisons where there is the greatest need, which HMP Wandsworth benefit from.Despite a challenging labour market, the Ministry of Justice has seen an improving national staffing picture within prisons. The number of frontline (Band 3-5) prison officers increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) (7.6 per cent) in the year to December 2023, to 23,266 FTE. Over the same period, there was a fall in the resignation rate among Band 3-5 officers of 2.4 percentage points. At HMP Wandsworth, there has been an increase of 21 FTE Band 3-5 prison officers in the most recent quarterly statistics (September 2023 - December 2023).

Ministry of Justice: Muslims

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guest speakers have been hosted by his Department's Muslim staff network since 2010.

Mike Freer: Information about MoJ Staff Events, including details of guest speakers, is retained for up to a maximum of three years. Within this time period, there have been three events where the MoJ Muslim Network invited an external guest speaker to speak. We do not have consent to share the speaker's information. If the department independently releases this information at this time, this could breach our duties under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Wandsworth Prison: Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the level of use of the new healthcare facility at HMP Wandsworth.

Edward Argar: The new healthcare unit is in the process of completion, at which point it will be handed over to the healthcare provider, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. The new building will be used to accommodate outpatient clinics and healthcare office space. The inpatient unit will remain in the existing healthcare building.

Prison and Probation Service

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of the One HMPPS project.

Edward Argar: We are committed through the OneHMPPS Strategic Portfolio to reduce HMPPS Head Quarters (HQ) cost and bring the management of prisons and probation closer together under the leadership of seven Area Executive Directors. With approval from Cabinet Office and HMT, we launched a voluntary exit departure scheme (VEDS) and voluntary redundancy scheme (VRS) in June 2023 as part of HQ redesign. As of 9 February 2024, these schemes have cost £21.4 million. Overall costs of OneHMPPS are an integrated part of running HMPPS HQ. Budgets and spend are disclosed through the annual reporting processes to Parliament.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse has been of the incarceration of prisoners who are not UK nationals since 2015.

Edward Argar: We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category of prisons. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on GOV.UK alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts. Data on the number of Foreign National Offenders in custody is published in Offender Management Statistics quarterly on GOV.UK. The removal of Foreign National Offenders is a Government priority and my department have recently announced measures to further increase removals of Foreign National Offenders including the extension of the Early Removal Scheme window to 18 months; working closely with Home Office to facilitate timely removals and working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to conclude bilateral Prison Transfer Agreements with priority countries. The Home Office removed 16,676 Foreign National Offenders since January 2019 to September 2023. Published figures show that Foreign National Offender returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to the previous 12-month period.

Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions: Safety

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13379 on Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions: Safety, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the trend in the number of safeguarding referrals issued within the youth secure estate for people aged 18 or over.

Edward Argar: To support the system-wide response to the adult prison capacity challenges, in November 2022, Ministers decided that the youth estate should continue to hold young adults until before their 19th birthday. This was a temporary change, and it is anticipated that we will be able to end this by January 2025. We have committed to a thorough review of how the interim policy arrangements are operating in practice, to be completed by the summer 2024. The interim policy of retaining more young people who reach the age of 18 in the youth estate was introduced in November 2022. The increase in safeguarding referrals for this age group reflects their greater numbers in the estate.

Wandsworth Prison: Prison Officers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were on restricted duties at HMP Wandsworth on the first Monday of each month in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The requested information is shown in the table below.Number of Prison Officers on restricted duties at HMP Wandsworth, Mar 2023 – Feb 2024Date6 Mar3 Apr1 May5 Jun3 Jul7 Aug4 Sep2 Oct6 Nov4 Dec1 Jan5 FebNumber of Prison Officers on restricted duties1211915814132123171213Restricted duties are where a member of staff is limited from their regular duties (this can be with regards to tasks or time), due to injury, illness or other reason, applied at the discretion of the line manager.To ensure we support staff welfare, we have in place an Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programme to improve wellbeing, as well as Care Teams, who are trained to provide support to any member of staff involved in an incident within the prison or when conducting official duties, present in all public sector prisons. Other services available include reflective sessions, access to online wellbeing services, 24-hour counselling, and a trauma-focused peer support system.Alongside schemes to improve welfare, we continue to take steps to ensure that all prisons are sufficiently resourced through focusing efforts on recruitment, seeking to bolster our applicant pipelines through our use of incentives scheme to target prisons where there is the greatest need.Despite a challenging labour market, the Ministry of Justice has seen an improving national staffing picture within prisons. The number of frontline (Band 3-5) prison officers increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) (7.6 per cent) in the year to December 2023, to 23,266 FTE. Over the same period, there was a fall in the resignation rate among Band 3-5 officers of 2.4 percentage points.

Shoplifting: Convictions

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people convicted of shoplifting in the last five years have subsequently been convicted of the same offence.

Edward Argar: My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, has been clear that the Police must take a zero-tolerance approach to shoplifting. Violence against a retail worker is unacceptable, which is why we have made it an aggravating offence to ensure tougher sentences for perpetrators.There were 66,876 offenders convicted of a shoplifting offence in the last five years (2018-2022). Of these, 59.3% (39,631 offenders) were subsequently convicted of the same offence.This Government is committed to reducing reoffending, and reoffending rates have fallen from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22. We are investing in rehabilitation to stop prison leavers falling back into crime, including tackling drug addiction, increasing the number of offenders in work and providing basic, short-term accommodation on release.On top of this, we are doubling the number of GPS tags available to courts for sentencing, ensuring more burglars and robbers are tagged which ultimately keeps our communities safer.

Ministry of Justice: Advertising

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice does not hold central records of advertising spend or budgets for advertising spend. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business and Trade

Electric Bicycles: Battery Chargers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many coroners' reports have asked the Office for Product Safety and Standards to take action against dangerous or faulty e-bike chargers in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has received two coroner’s reports relating to concerns about the safety of e-bikes, lithium-ion batteries and chargers. The reports were received in August 2023 and in January 2024, and OPSS’ responses will be published on the judiciary.uk website.

Exports: Russia

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department (a) has and (b) plans to issue guidance to business on the potential risks of exporting goods that may indirectly support military activities in Russia.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The department is supporting businesses to export successfully, while understanding and tackling the risks of goods being circumvented to Russia. We have published guidance with HMRC for exporters on circumvention with recommendations for due diligence and internal controls. Along with international partners, we also publish and maintain the “Common High Priority Items List” to help businesses understand which goods are critical to Russia’s military. Finally, we have announced the creation of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation in the Department for Business and Trade, which will boost the enforcement and implementation of UK trade sanctions once it is up and running later this year. The new unit’s priorities will include enhanced industry engagement and improved sanctions guidance for industry.

UK Trade with EU: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps she has taken to help increase (a) Welsh and (b) British exports to European countries.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to growing exports to Europe. The Department for Business and Trade continues to provide businesses with a wealth of support options on great.gov.uk, including the Export Academy, Export Champions, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance. The department is rolling out the Trade Advisory service across the UK, giving consistent support to all UK Exporters. The department’s Nation Teams bring support closer to businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; they work closely with the Devolved Administrations (DAs), businesses and other key partners to improve the availability of support to businesses and ensure that the department’s support is available to all UK companies.

Department for Business and Trade: Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business and Trade has centrally managed subscriptions for the Economist and the Financial Times for financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. Information on locally sourced and managed subscriptions is not routinely collected and to make it available could only be done at a disproportionate cost.

Department for Business and Trade: Vacancies

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Greg Hands: As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall, good progress has been made with total current vacancies in the Department for Business and Trade at 24% (91 vacancies). To further support recruitment, the department has an internal dedicated team to lead the end-to-end recruitment process and access recruitment agency support where required.

Electric Bicycles: Fire Prevention

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing regulations to improve fire safety measures for e-bikes.

Kevin Hollinrake: Under existing UK law, e-bikes must be safe before they are placed on the market. E-bikes are in scope of the Supply of Machinery Regulations (2008) which includes obligations on manufacturers to mitigate safety risks, including fire. Last year, the Government consulted on the Product Safety Review, seeking views on proposals to reform the UK’s product safety framework so it is fit for the digital age and meets consumers’ and businesses’ needs. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed. The Government intends to publish its response later this year, which will summarise the findings and set out future plans.

Products: Safety

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Office for Product Safety and Standards' timetable is for publishing the findings from the Product Safety review consultation which closed on 24 October 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) is currently analysing responses to the Product Safety Review consultation. The Government intends to publish a response later this year which will summarise the findings and set out future plans.

Electric Bicycles: Battery Chargers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many deaths have been caused by dangerous or counterfeit e-bike chargers in each of the last nine years.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety Standards (OPSS) is aware of three fatalities in 2022 and 11 fatalities in 2023 from fires related to e-bikes, lithium-ion batteries or chargers. This is drawn from data supplied by UK fire and rescue services, shared with OPSS. Incidents are complex as often multiple products are involved that can be safe and compliant when used individually, but become unsafe when used in combination. Lithium-ion battery fires involving e-bikes can cause catastrophic damage to property, it is not always possible to identify whether products involved were unsafe, counterfeit or non-compliant given the damage they can sustain.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

National Security

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will update his Department's Fusion Doctrine to reflect lessons learned from the integration of civil society and private business responses as part of defence efforts in Ukraine.

James Heappey: Fusion Doctrine is not published by the Ministry of Defence as it relates to the UK's whole government approach to orchestrating National Security capabilities. Military Joint doctrine is reviewed continually by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre through a five yearly plan. Review of Military Joint doctrine is required to reflect best practice and agreed lessons from operations and training.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, when he plans to deliver the first artillery shells under this effort.

James Heappey: The first deliveries of the UK's £245 million munitions package for Ukraine, announced on 24 February 2024, will take place in the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year.

NATO: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the size of the defence force in the context of NATO commitments relating to any escalation of the Russian threat in eastern Europe.

James Heappey: Headline numbers of regular personnel do not define operational effectiveness. A more efficient training pipeline, fewer formed-unit deployments, organisational refinement and investment in improved capabilities mean that more units are ready more of the time. Through our offer to NATO, we offer the Alliance the full spectrum of defence capabilities.20,000 Service personnel from the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force will deploy across Europe to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24. Our Armed Forces continue to meet all their operational commitments, including participating in every single NATO mission, supporting Ukraine, and tackling Houthi shipping attacks in the Red Sea.

Armed Forces: Vocational Guidance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to engage with schools to help ensure young people are aware of opportunities available to them in the armed forces.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Armed Forces enjoy good relationships with schools, primarily in terms of engagement to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) curriculum areas but this also extends to careers engagement. The Armed Forces only visit when they have been invited by a school to support activities. The visits cover a range of activities such as career events, citizenship talks, science and maths challenges and other indoor or outdoor exercises.The Cadet Expansion Programme has focussed on growth in the state sector. Since introduction in 2012, the number of cadet units in state schools has grown by 417% (268 schools). Some new units have also been opened in Independent Schools and here there has been a 12% increase (total 201). It is important to note that the Armed Forces do not target recruitment activity at under-16s, and no visits to schools by the Armed Forces are directly linked to recruitment, other than specific Careers/Jobs Fairs which generally involve a range of employers. While presentations may be given highlighting the careers available in the Armed Forces, no pupil is ever signed up or able to make a commitment to become a recruit in the Armed Forces during the course of a visit.

Defence Equipment & Support and Submarine Delivery Agency: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in (a) Defence Equipment & Support and (b) the Submarine Delivery Agency have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Staff employed by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) have both a Success Profile and an Email Tally. Success Profiles provide outlines of roles, key responsibilities and formal qualifications needed, as well as required technical competences and behaviours, which are aligned to wider Civil Service behaviours. No DE&S or SDA Success Profile includes the words 'equality', 'diversity', 'inclusion', 'gender', 'LGBT' or 'race'. Email Tallies are short summaries of an individual's current team and role which appear after their name in the Ministry of Defence's Global Address List. While staff will be formally assigned to a Success Profile on joining either DE&S or SDA, Email Tallies may be amended to reflect changes to the nature of an individual's role over time. In total fewer than 15 members of staff across DE&S and SDA have Email Tallies that include either the word 'diversity' and/or the word 'inclusion', or abbreviations thereof. No Email Tallies in either DE&S or SDA include the words 'equality', 'gender', 'LGBT' or 'race'.

Reserve Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) conscription and (ii) civilian training for the purposes of increasing the size of the reserve force.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 February 2024 to Question 14972 to the hon. Member for Bolton North East (Mark Logan).National Service (docx, 15.1KB)

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence People and Families during the debate on Nuclear Test Veterans: Medical Records on 28 November 2023, Official Report, column 247WH, what his planned timetable is to decide on public release of the 150 Atomic Weapons Establishment files on Nuclear Test Veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I plan to visit the Atomic Weapons Establishment this month to personally review the information and consider its release into the public domain.

Ministry of Defence: Press

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Some information is available for the Directorate of Defence Communications (DDC) as the lead branch for communications within the Ministry of Defence. The total DDC spend for online and hard copy Newspapers for the last financial year is £12,500. Further information cannot be provided as it cannot be separated out from other expenditure nor is it readily available for previous financial years.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Paveway IV bombs the RAF has used in Yemen since 1 January 2024.

James Heappey: The RAF has carried out strikes on Houthi military capabilities linked to attacks on global shipping on four occasions since 1 January 2024. For operational security reasons, I will not divulge the specific number of Paveway IV munitions used.

Fleet Solid Support Ships: Iron and Steel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2022 to Question 93475 on Fleet Solid Support Ships: Iron and Steel, whether Team Resolute has provided his Department with an estimate of the proportion of UK-sourced steel to be used in the construction of those vessels.

James Cartlidge: It is the responsibility of Team Resolute to make its steel requirements known to the UK steel industry and to procure steel in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. Team Resolute has indicated that it intends to use UK-sourced steel wherever it is practicable to do so, and in any event for the majority of the build. We are not yet able to confirm the amount of UK-sourced steel to be in used in the Fleet Solid Support Ship(FSS) – this is because the steel for FSS has not yet been purchased. However, we encourage the use of UK-sourced steel where possible, and for example, are able to confirm that nearly 50% by value of steel on batch 1 of the Type-26 programme is UK-sourced.

Ammunition

Dame Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's ammunition stocks.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) holds sufficient munitions to conduct current operational tasks. Munitions stockpile levels are kept under review balancing current holdings against threats, availability, industrial capacity and evolving technology. We are investing in munitions. The Defence Command Paper 2023 announced that the MOD would spend an additional £2.5 billion on munitions. This is in addition to the Government's provision of £560 million over two years in the Autumn Statement 2022 to build our munitions stockpiles and a further £1.9 billion over two years announced in the 2023 Budget for investment in wider readiness and resilience.

Defence: Military Aircraft and Vehicles

Dame Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average vehicle availability rate was for (a) wheeled support vehicles, (b) Landrovers, (c) Typhoon and (d) Lightning in each year since 2018.

James Cartlidge: The British Army holds and maintains an appropriate amount of all its platforms to meet operational requirements. For security reasons, I am withholding further information on the number of wheeled support vehicles and Land Rovers available for operational deployment. Average annual Forward Fleet figures for the Typhoon and F-35B Lightning fleets are given in the table below.Year201820192020202120222023Typhoon9610010010110099Lightning (1)7(2)1114172124Excludes three aircraft in the Test and Evaluation role in the US.From June to December onlyThe Forward Fleet comprises serviceable and short-term unserviceable aircraft. Typically, the short-term unserviceable fleet aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection that can arise on a day-to-day basis. The number of aircraft varies day-to-day, according to normal flight management activities.

Nuclear Weapons

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to diversify the UK's nuclear deterrent capabilities.

James Cartlidge: The 2013 Trident Alternatives Review demonstrated that no other system is as capable, resilient or cost effective as our current deterrent capability based on a four nuclear-armed submarine solution. That has not changed; the Trident II D5 missile system, carried by our Vanguard Class submarines, remains the most reliable weapons system in the world having successfully completed more than 190 tests. The Government has absolute confidence that the UK’s deterrent remains effective, dependable, and formidable. That is why we are continuing to invest in the next generation of Dreadnought Class ballistic missile submarines, in extending the life of the Trident missile and in replacing the warhead, to keep us safe for decades to come.

Ajax Vehicles: Procurement

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to improve the delivery rate of the Ajax armoured vehicle programme.

James Cartlidge: As a result of revised contractual terms with MOD, General Dynamics UK have introduced a number of measures designed to improve the delivery rate. These measures include: - Extending the current shift patterns and building contingency throughout the production schedule;- Optimising the build line to balance activity and recruitment of additional resource to anticipate potential pinch points in the schedule; and- An increase in collaborative practices, such as the introduction of joint acceptance, to reduce overall timelines.

Defence: Space Technology

Chris Clarkson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the contribution to UK GDP of military space exports; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that his Department's approach to procurement supports the skills required to grow such exports.

James Cartlidge: The UK has a strong space industry, which was worth over £17.5 billion in income to the UK in 2022 alone. Space exports are valued at £5.9 billion to the UK economy, and although there is no precise figure for military space exports, UK Defence and Security Exports estimates that UK companies are currently competing for exports totalling around £4.4 billion to be delivered between now and 2030, which will continue to grow. Recognising the importance of the space to the UK's economy, we deliberately develop and retain skills in the UK as part of our space capabilities. For example, through the social value component of our procurement of the SKYNET secure satellite communications programme, which is largely designed and manufactured in the UK. In addition, UK Space Command is developing the UK Space Academy to enhance space training for both Government and industry. Skills will also be an important theme in the forthcoming plan for the space sector which will be published soon by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in close consultation with Defence.

Chinook Helicopters: Training

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether training for Chinook helicopters will be moved to RAF Odiham.

James Cartlidge: A number of options are being explored, and no decisions have been taken as to where training to operate Chinook helicopters will take place.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where aircrew training for the New Medium Helicopter will take place.

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the successful applicant for the New Medium Helicopter contract will have use of a purpose-built facility for aircrew training.

James Cartlidge: As announced at the International Military Helicopters conference on 27 February 2024, we have now launched the next stage of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition. Aircrew training for NMH will integrate with the existing UK Military Flying Training System, which aircrew will continue to utilise to undertake their initial flying training, with Conversion to Type (CTT) training being provided using an Operational Conversion Unit based at RAF Benson. Infrastructure assessment work at RAF Benson is ongoing, therefore it is too early to comment on the facilities that will be provided for NMH CTT training.

NATO: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the size of the armed forces in the context of conventional military threats to NATO allies in eastern Europe.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence is committed to delivering the Armed Forces set out in Defence Command Paper 23. This includes the transformational restructuring and modernisation originally set out in Integrated Review 21. Headline numbers of regular personnel do not define operational effectiveness. A more efficient training pipeline, fewer formed-unit deployments, organisational refinement and investment in improved capabilities mean that more units are ready more of the time.The UK has committed almost all our Armed Forces and military capabilities to NATO under the new NATO Force Model - our strongest ever force commitment to the Alliance.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on procurement of uncrewed aerial systems in each year since 2010.

James Cartlidge: The information required to answer the right hon. Member's Question is not centrally held and will take time to collate. I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Aircraft Carriers

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of implementing Project Ark Royal.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the status is of Project Ark Royal.

James Cartlidge: The Royal Navy continually assesses its capabilities to maximise their effectiveness. Project Ark Royal refers to longstanding exploratory work to ensure that the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers are compatible with future aircraft types. There are no current plans to adapt the Carriers as a result of this work and therefore no formal costings are associated.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Advertising

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding his Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Work and Pensions delivers a range of campaigns which are essential in ensuring vulnerable people and pensioners know what financial support they are eligible for. Advertising is a key part of government communications used to reach target audiences and media channels are selected based on whether they will have the most impact and the most effective value for money for the taxpayer. Figures provided on budgeted and spend on advertising over the last three financial years are outlined in the table below (amounts are rounded up to nearest £0.5m): YearDWP Marketing BudgetSpend on Advertising2022-2023£15,000,000£8,000,0002021-2022£17,000,000£12,000,0002020-2021£13,500,000£11,000,000

Department for Work and Pensions: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Paul Maynard: The department has contributed £25,036,238 in Levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023. During the same period the department has spent £12,026,054. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished accounts information, that for the period April to August 2023 has not been independently audited.

Scoliosis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to include scoliosis as a reportable condition under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

Paul Maynard: The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and apply to all sectors and workplaces in Great Britain. The 2013 regulations clarified and simplified the list of reportable ill-health conditions (occupational diseases), as a result of a recommendation made by Professor Löfstedt in his report “Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety (legislation,” published in 2011. Under the regulations, HSE is required to review RIDDOR every five years. A review has recently been completed and its recommendations published. One of these recommendations was to review the list of reportable occupational diseases. HSE is currently considering how best to take this forward.

Employment: Viral Diseases

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive has plans to update its guidance on workplace transmission of blood borne viruses.

Paul Maynard: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is the regulator of workplace health and safety and publishes guidance aimed to assist employers in controlling workplace risks, including those from blood-borne viruses where this is relevant to their work activities. HSE’s approach to developing guidance is led by intelligence to ensure it remains appropriate. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest changes to workplace risks, HSE is currently working with experts from scientific advisory committees to review the guidance and will update it as necessary in due course.

Workplace Pensions

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 12888 on Workplace Pensions, for what reason the findings of that work will not be published.

Paul Maynard: I would refer the Hon. Gentleman to the previous response. It is not convention to disclose policy discussions between Ministers and officials as a matter of course.

Pension Protection Fund

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q338 of the evidence given to the Work and Pensions Committee by the Minister for Pensions on 10 January 2024, HC144, how he plans to use the £12 billion surplus in the Pension Protection Fund.

Paul Maynard: No decisions have been made with regard to the reserves held by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). Operational decisions about the PPF are a matter for the Board of the PPF, who have a key role to play in considering the use of its reserves.

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes, published on 20 July 2021.

Paul Maynard: It would not be appropriate to comment on the Ombudsman's report published on 20 July 2021. The Ombudsman’s investigation is ongoing and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”. The Department is cooperating fully with the Ombudsman’s investigation and will carefully consider any findings that arise from the final report.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Nuclear Power: Accidents

Dame Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) minor, (b) moderate and (c) major incident notification forms were submitted to the Office for Nuclear Regulation in each year since 2015.

Andrew Bowie: The Office for Nuclear Regulation's (ONR) incident notification process requires dutyholders to state their judgement on the significance of an incident as major, moderate and minor in an initial incident notification form. Incidents could relate to safety, nuclear security and/or safeguards. This categorisation is the dutyholders’ initial perspective when they first reported the incident. This means that a “major incident notification form” does not necessarily align with a “major incident”. ONR’s guidance is that the dutyholders should use the plain English interpretations of the words and their judgement on the significance of the incident. ONR inspectors use the dutyholders’ perspective as one aspect of the diverse information that informs their judgements on the significance of incidents. ONR reports each financial year on the number of incident forms it has received, including the dutyholders’ initial perspective on incident significance, in annex 3 of the Chief Nuclear Inspector’s Annual Report on Great Britain’s Nuclear Industry 2022/23 (onr.org.uk).  Summary of dutyholders’ reports received 2015 to present: Financial YearMinorModerateMajor2015/163001122016/175143322017/185716012018/195785012019/207073942020/216425712021/228554732022/236448252023/24*491603*up to 28/02/2024 Source: ONR Information management system

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much her Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Graham Stuart: Since the machinery of government in February 2023, the apprenticeship levy account has remained shared between the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Business and Trade. Therefore, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is unable accurately to provide the amount paid in apprenticeship levy fees between February 2023 and August 2023 and is unable accurately to provide the amount spent from the levy over the same period. As the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero did not exist between September 2021 and January 2023, we are unable to provide data on payment towards the apprenticeship levy and spend of levy funds for this period.

Shell: Nigeria

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will request that Shell publishes its environmental impact assessments in respect of the areas of the Niger Delta where SPDC currently operates.

Andrew Bowie: Environmental Impact Assessments for Shell’s activities in Nigeria since 2014 are published on the company’s website. Please see https://www.shell.com.ng/sustainability/environment/environment-impact-assessments.html

Shell: Nigeria

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to help ensure that Shell has in place plans for the safe decommissioning of its infrastructure in Nigeria prior to selling its Nigerian operation SPDC.

Andrew Bowie: SPDC is a Nigerian registered subsidiary of Shell whose operations in the Niger Delta are as a member of a Joint Venture in which it has a minority stake (the majority - 55% - stake is held by Nigerian state-owned company NNPC Ltd). This Joint Venture operates under a regulatory regime set and enforced by the Government of Nigeria. It would not be appropriate for His Majesty's Government, as a foreign government, to seek to influence the regulatory process.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor investment in local supply chains for the (a) onshore and (b) offshore renewable sector in Scotland.

Andrew Bowie: All offshore and onshore wind projects greater than 300MW, and all floating offshore wind projects, that apply for revenue support from the Contracts for Difference scheme must submit Supply Chain Plans to the government for approval and monitoring. Such projects, including any Scottish projects, are monitored for delivery of commitments made towards the development of supply chains in those plans several times a year and there is a significant penalty attached to non delivery.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has received recent representations from her counterpart in the Scottish Government on taking steps to help ensure that the supply chain in the renewable energy sector supports local (a) employment and (b) businesses.

Andrew Bowie: All offshore and onshore wind projects greater than 300MW, and all floating offshore wind projects, that apply for revenue support from the Contracts for Difference scheme must submit Supply Chain Plans to the government for approval and monitoring. Such projects, including any Scottish projects, are monitored for delivery of commitments made towards the development of supply chains in those plans several times a year and there is a significant penalty attached to non delivery.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Advertising

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department has (i) budgeted for and (ii) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Graham Stuart: Please see the below costs with reference to the PQ, that were searched under the following account names: AdvertisingAdvertising for Public AppointmentPublicity and AdvertisingR & D Publicity and AdvertisingDepartment/ YearSum of invoice amount (£)BEIS FY 21/221,264,235.55FY 22/23510,338.09FY 23/24172,144.24DESNZ FY 23/24*227168.96 *Post MoG ledgers were not split until September 2023, so figures pre this date can include some former BEIS spend. Please be advised that the data above is actual spend, we do not hold any data for budgeted spend relevant to the proposed question.

Heating: Older People

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of the report by Independent Age entitled A constant struggle: The impact of high household costs on older people facing financial hardship, published in September 2023, on the proportion of older people on a low household income that had reduced their heating.

Amanda Solloway: The Government recognises the challenges posed by cost-of-living pressures, including the impact of energy bills, and is already providing extensive financial support to households. This includes a package of support to assist households and individuals with rising costs of living that will total over £104 billion, or £3,700 per household on average, over 2022-2025. We support those most in need with millions of vulnerable households receiving up to £900 in further Cost of Living Payments. These payments are in addition to established financial support which is available for low income and vulnerable households this winter through the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment which provides £25 during very cold weather. An extra cost of living payment is being paid to pensioner households worth up to £300 through the Winter Fuel Payment, meaning eligible individuals will receive between £250 - £600.

Heat Pumps

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that hybrid heat pumps are included in the Government’s target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.

Amanda Solloway: The Government consulted on the role of hybrid heat pumps through the consultation on ‘Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency’ and will set out our response in due course. Meanwhile, the Government is supporting targeted deployment of hybrid heating systems in defined circumstances in England through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Sustainable Warmth competition.

Heat Pumps

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she plans to take to support the installation of hybrid heat pumps in homes identified as unsuitable for heat pumps.

Amanda Solloway: The Government consulted on the role of hybrid heat pumps through the consultation on ‘Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency’ and will set out our response in due course. Meanwhile, the Government is supporting targeted deployment of hybrid heating systems in defined circumstances in England through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Sustainable Warmth competition.

Heat Pumps

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Heat pump net zero investment roadmap, published on 5 April 2023, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the level of progress toward the target of at least 600,000 heat pumps a year being installed by 2028 and (b) the potential role of hybrid heat pumps in meeting that target.

Amanda Solloway: The Government remains fully committed to supporting the transition to low-carbon heating. This includes the aim to grow the market to 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. A range of measures are supporting this, including schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Energy Company Obligation and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. From 2025, we expect heat pumps will become the primary heating technology for new homes under the Future Homes Standard. The Government consulted on the role of hybrid heat pumps through the consultation on ‘Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency’ and will set out our response in due course.

Boilers: Heat Pumps

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will extend the support available under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to include installation of hybrid heat pumps.

Amanda Solloway: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme supports the transition away from fossil fuel heating to a low carbon alternative. Hybrid heat pumps are not currently eligible as the Government want to direct funding available to technologies that offer the greatest carbon savings, rather than those which would continue to involve the burning of fossil fuels for heating. Heat pumps are suitable for the majority of UK homes, including off-gas grid and will play an important strategic role in decarbonising existing properties. The Government will keep our position on alternative heating technologies under review and make further assessments as supporting evidence develops.

Climate Change Convention: United Arab Emirates

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost to the public purse was of UK Government attendance at COP28.

Graham Stuart: The information requested would be disproportionately costly to collate given the number of Government Departments involved – each Department will hold its own information. Final DESNZ costs are not yet available, with invoices and claims still being processed. The cost of hosting a UK Pavilion at COP28 was covered by sponsorship income of £1.2 million.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to issue a substantive written response to the correspondence of 15 January 2024 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference MCB2024/00632.

Amanda Solloway: I wrote to the hon. Member on 1 March about the constituent’s eligibility for the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Insulation: Housing

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.

Amanda Solloway: The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

Lighting

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled New ecodesign requirements for lighting products, which closed on 4 April 2023.

Amanda Solloway: I refer the Hon Member to the reply I gave to him on 19 September 2023 to Question UIN 198720.

Biofuels

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's consultation on a transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass generators, published on 18 January 2024, for what reason 31 March 2024 was chosen as the deadline for any party who considers they may be eligible for transitional support to contact her Department.

Andrew Bowie: Biomass plays a key role in delivering a more secure, clean energy sector. Capturing emissions from power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage can remove significant volumes of CO2 from the atmosphere and support our net zero ambitions. The date by which we have asked generators who consider they may be eligible to contact us is in line with the timeframes for potential negotiations which is outlined in the consultation. Any future formal eligibility assessment, subject to the outcome of the consultation, will be set out in the government response.

Nuclear Power: Inspections

Dame Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many security inspections were carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation in each year since 2015.

Andrew Bowie: The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has carried out 1583 security inspections over the period January 2015 to end December 2023. The below table details the number of security inspections for each year over this period.YearNumber of ONR Security Inspections201524020161972017220201814620191692020144202113620221782023153

Renewable Energy: Community Development

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14392 on Renewable Energy: Community Development, when she plans to publish the outcome of the review into the Government's approach to community benefits.

Andrew Bowie: As part of the Autumn statement package Government committed to review its approach to community benefits to ensure that we are being strategic in identifying key sectors where community benefits can support delivery of infrastructure. This work will need to build on and learn from the electricity network-specific approach being taken by the energy sector and will be considered in due course as part of future funding and investment decisions.

Department for Education

Education and Skills Funding Agency: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in the Education and Skills Funding Agency have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Damian Hinds: The department does not hold the information requested. The department does not hold information on job titles, as the department’s records are by job grade only.

Schools: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help mitigate the impact of inflation on real terms funding received by schools.

Damian Hinds: The government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.School funding is rising to £59.6 billion, from this April, meaning schools will be funded at their highest ever level in real terms per pupil. The government invested an additional £2 billion for both this year and next, announced at the 2022 Autumn Statement. As well as extra funding for the 2023 teachers’ pay award, ensuring it was properly funded.

Department for Education: Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department and (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Damian Hinds: The department does not specifically hold data for the types of publications listed in this question.

Education: Cybercrime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on cyber security threats to educational institutions.

Damian Hinds: The UK government takes cyber threats to our public institutions very seriously and this threat has been highlighted in both the published Integrated Review and the Government Cyber Security Strategy, which show the cross-government approach the department has to tackling these threats. The Integrated Review is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-integrated-review-2021. The Government Cyber Security Strategy is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-cyber-security-strategy-2022-to-2030.The department cyber team continues to work closely with colleagues across government, including those at the National Cyber Security Centre, to manage its cyber risk across educational institutions.

Office for Students: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in the Office for Students have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Robert Halfon: The department does not hold this information. The job titles of staff at the Office for Students are a matter for the Office for Students.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Advertising

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Hoare: Departmental advertising expenditure exceeding £250 is regularly published on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dluhc-departmental-spending-over-250.

Buildings: Inspections

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of building inspectors that are expected to have registered with the Building Safety Regulator by 6 April 2024.

Lee Rowley: The deadline to register is 6 April 2024, and we continue to review the progress of registrations in advance of that.

Buildings: Construction

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that developers do not use unsuitable materials when constructing buildings.

Lee Rowley: Regulation 7(1) of the Building Regulations 2010 places a duty on the person carrying building work to ensure that it is carried out with adequate and proper materials which are appropriate for the circumstances in which they are used, adequately mixed or prepared, and are applied, used or fixed so as to adequately perform the functions for which they are designed.The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 amended the Building Regulations to require that individuals and organisations carrying out building work or design work must have the necessary competence to ensure that the work they do meets the requirements of the Building Regulations.

Housing Infrastructure Fund

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how his Department plans to allocate the remainder of the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

Lee Rowley: The £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is fully allocated. The full £4.2 billion budget is expected to be spent by the programme end date of 31 March 2028.

Public Lavatories

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2024 to Question 14381 on Public Lavatories, for what reason this information is notheldcentrally.

Simon Hoare: Because this is a matter for local government and this department does not operate any public lavatories.

Social Rented Housing: Mould

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of requirements for social housing providers of houses in multiple occupation to address (a) mould and (b) damp in those properties.

Jacob Young: The definition of a house in multiple occupation (HMO), and which buildings are not HMOs, is set out in the Housing Act 2004. According to schedule 14 of this Act, a building managed or controlled by a local housing authority, a non-profit registered provider of social housing or a body registered as a social landlord (under part 1 of the Housing Act 1996) is not an HMO. As such, it is not possible to have an HMO in the social housing sector.

Housing: Ownership

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle potential distortions of the property market by foreign ownership of residential property in the UK.

Lee Rowley: The Government applies a non-resident Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge of 2 percentage points on overseas purchasers of UK residential property. Companies House collects information about all overseas-based entities owning UK land and we have powers in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act to require more information about land ownership structures, which could help us tackle corruption in the property market and understand where we can take further action.We recently ran a consultation about increasing the transparency of trusts who own land, which closed on 21 February. Trusts have been identified as a significant blocker to land transparency as their details are kept off all public registers and the results of this consultation will inform how we can intervene.

Local Government: Debt Collection

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 6351 on Local Government: Debt Collection, whether his Department monitors adherence by local authorities to the guidance it publishes.

Simon Hoare: As has been the case under successive administrations, the collection of council tax is a responsibility of local authorities.

Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a housebuilding workforce plan to help tackle skills shortages in the housebuilding sector.

Lee Rowley: Primary responsibility for the skills and workforce pipeline of any sector must sit with that sector – something that is particularly the case in a profitable sector such as housebuilding.The Government has an extensive programme of work in augmenting skills development across multiple industries, including through the role of vocational qualifications such as T-Levels.In May 2023, the Department for Education commissioned an independent review of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and the Construction Industry Training Board. The review is in its concluding stages and ministers will consider the Government response to the report and publication in due course.

Property Development: Water

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of water efficiency technologies for developments with (a) water scarcity and (b) nutrient concerns.

Lee Rowley: The department does not assess individual technologies, but the Government recognises the role water efficiency technologies can play in our efforts to address water scarcity and in supporting the delivery of homes affected by nutrient neutrality.As set out in the Secretary of State’s written Ministerial Statement of 19 December 2023 (HCWS161), the Government is committed to reviewing building regulations to allow local planning authorities to introduce tighter water efficiency standards in new homes.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many buildings over 18 meters with aluminium composite material cladding have not been remediated as of 28 February 2024.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information he holds on the number and proportion of buildings over 18 meters with aluminium composite material cladding that have started remediation works.

Lee Rowley: The latest data on remediation progress of high-rise buildings (over 18 metres) with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-remediation-monthly-data-release-january-2024.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the current ceiling amount for the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average turnaround time is for the (a) approval and (b) completion of works under the Disabled Facilities Grant by local authority in England.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a fast-track route for the Disabled Facilities Grant when the applicant has a progressive health condition.

Felicity Buchan: The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely. Government funding for Disabled Facilities Grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24.Local areas already have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can provide grants above the £30,000 cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. In 2022, Government published guidance for local authorities on the Disabled Facilities Grant, which includes information on using discretion in local delivery of the grant. The guidance can be found here.   As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant, the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.Unaudited data provided voluntarily by local authorities suggests that the average time for approval of a DFG application in 2021/22 was 29 working days. The average completion time was 88 days.Local areas already have the power to include in their housing assistance policies a fast-track route for applicants with an urgent need for adaptations, including those with progressive health conditions. Government DFG delivery guidance provides information to local authorities on how to design housing assistance policies. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities also funds an organisation called Foundations to support local authorities with the effective delivery of the grant, and they can assist authorities in drafting policies that address local need.

Leasehold

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of leaseholders in (a) Witham constituency, (b) Essex and (c) England.

Lee Rowley: The department publishes an annual estimate of Leasehold dwellings in England. The most recent data (2021-22) shows there were an estimated 4.98 million leasehold dwellings in England. In the South East, there were an estimated 696,000 leasehold dwellings. Due to methodological limitations, the statistics cannot show robust estimates at a sub-regional level. The data are published on gov.uk here: Leasehold dwellings.

Leasehold: Reform

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15306, which organisations (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met on reforms to the leasehold system; and whether any of those organisations made representations to his Department requesting that the leasehold system be maintained.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 15306 on 29 February 2024.In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Temporary Accommodation: Families

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to reduce the reliance on temporary accommodation for families in need.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking with local authorities to help ensure sufficient (a) resources and (b) support systems to prevent families from entering temporary accommodation.

Felicity Buchan: I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14761 on 26 February 2024.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water: Pollution Control

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of land have been protected for wildlife as a result of the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme.

Rebecca Pow: Nutrient neutrality advice aims to halt further pollution of England’s most important protected waterways whose catchments cover an area of approximately 1.8m ha. Natural England has developed a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that has so far secured approximately 257 ha of land to reduce nutrient pollution from new housing development. This land will also be managed for the purposes of nature conservation and, where appropriate, public access. Natural England is currently investigating other sites across England which, if considered feasible, would secure approximately 512 ha of land for the purposes of nutrient mitigation and nature recovery. Natural England aims to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land when investing in nutrient mitigation projects. The nutrient mitigation scheme operates alongside a number of other providers of nutrient mitigation across England, including Local Authorities, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, private markets and developers. Many of the solutions invested in by these providers will be nature-based and will not only reduce nutrient pollution but benefit nature and people.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sudan: Human Rights

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Sudan, published on 23 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK welcomes the recent report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the situation in Sudan. This report adds to the mounting credible evidence of abuses taking place in Sudan, attributed to both warring parties. The UK continues to support the essential work of OHCHR in monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Sudan, including Darfur. The UK has consistently condemned reported violations and pushed for the warring parties to agree a ceasefire, engage in a meaningful peace process and grant immediate humanitarian access. We continue to call for an end to the violence and for those responsible for human rights violations to be held to account.

Gaza: Roads

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the reported construction of a corridor bisecting Gaza by Israel; and whether he has discussed that matter with his (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian counterparts.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We continue to monitor the situation closely in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are clear that a viable two state solution is the best means to achieve lasting peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. The Prime Minister pressed this point in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu 15 February.

Mali: Religious Freedom

David Linden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of violence in central Mali on religious minority groups.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is closely monitoring rising instability in Mali. There has been an increase in human rights abuses and violations, including on religious minority groups. The violence is sadly widespread but does not appear to be religiously motivated. Following the recent withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), it is essential that the authorities in Mali deliver on their commitment to a political transition, with free, fair, transparent and inclusive presidential elections. The UK is committed to working with our partners to support initiatives to protect human rights in Mali.

Gaza: Mortality Rates

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University entitled Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections, published on 19 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of this report.As the Foreign Secretary has said, Palestinians civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Too many civilians have been killed and we want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.The immediate priority must be a humanitarian pause in the fighting, which is the best route to get aid in and hostages out. We want that pause to lead to a sustainable ceasefire without a return to destruction, fighting and further loss of life. That remains the focus of all our diplomatic effort.There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza and our focus must be on practical solutions that save lives. We trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings. On 21 February, the UK and Jordan air-dropped life-saving aid to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital in northern Gaza. Four tonnes of vital supplies were provided, including medicines, fuel and food for hospital patients and staff.

Languages

Sarah Owen: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps the Government took to mark United Nations International Mother Language Day.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In liaison with other government departments and the UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC), the FCDO partnered with the Bangladesh High Commission and High Commissioner for the 6th year to celebrate International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in London. IMLD was supported by the UK's Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, with UKNC, focussing on the theme of International Mother Language Day celebration for 2024 which is "Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning". The UK Permanent Delegate to UNESCO also promoted IMLD through e-communications and social channels, including support for IMLD related activities taking place around the UK, for example celebrating local musicians performing in their mother language in Wales.

Colombia: Indigenous Peoples

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of displacement of the Wiwa indigenous peoples in Colombia.

David Rutley: Supporting the Colombian Government in its commitment to secure a broad and lasting peace will remain an important priority of this Government. At the UN Security Council on 11 January, Our Ambassador urged the Colombian Government to take further steps to protect vulnerable groups including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities most affected by conflict. Through the UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) which has provided £79 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Colombia and prioritise funding interventions to help protect indigenous communities, including through the OHCHR (UN Human Rights Office).

Bermuda: Cannabis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Bermuda on the decriminalisation of possession of cannabis in that territory.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to working in partnership with Bermuda and we remain available to discuss new proposals on this legislation, to find a way forward that works for Bermuda whilst also remaining within the scope of existing international obligations.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Press

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

David Rutley: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold separate data on subscriptions. Many decisions are made by the UK's 281 embassies and diplomatic posts overseas or by individual departments in the UK. As a result, comprehensive information on individual titles is not centrally recorded and collating this information would incur disproportionate cost.Efficiency savings are made on core titles by providing these centrally online as part of library services and by partnering with other Government Departments to obtain best value for money. These are reviewed annually. Over the last three financial years, the titles listed below have been supplied centrally through the FCDO Library.The breadth of titles reflects the wide range of issues, events, and crises the FCDO's staff around the world need to keep track of to protect the UK's interests at home and overseas.a] NewspapersBloomberg News; China Global South Project; The Daily Telegraph; The Economist; The Financial Times; Le Monde Diplomatique; The Local - Europe & Sweden (from 2022); The New York Times; Nikkei Asia; Politico Pro; PressReader (over 6,000 titles from 130 countries); South China Morning Post (from 2022); The Times & Sunday Times; The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.b] MagazinesThe New Statesman (from 2023) and The Spectator. Other titles are also available via PressReader.c] Online JournalsAfrica Confidential; Africa Intelligence (from 2023); Africa Report (from 2023); African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review; American Economic Review; Annual Review of Economics; Arab Digest; British Medical Journal (to January 2022) Borderlex; Diplomat; Economic and Political Weekly; Elsevier/Science Direct (4,000 titles); European Council Studies (to December 2021); Intelligence Online (to September 2021); International Affairs; Jeune Afrique; Journal of Conflict Resolution; Journal of Democracy; Journal of Japanese Studies; Nature; Nature Climate Change; Nature Food (from 2023); Nature Geoscience (to January 2024); NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Paper Series; NK News; Prospect; Quarterly Journal of Economics; Science; Taylor Francis Package (2,500 titles); Wiley Social Science & Humanities package (to January 2022); World Economics and World Politics; World Trade Online (to January 2022).

Home Office

Organised Crime: Electronic Cigarettes

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to update the County Lines Programme to include illegal vapes.

Chris Philp: This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen. “County lines” drug dealing is a form of drug distribution which exploits children and vulnerable young people, coercing them into being ‘runners’ and transporting illegal substances and money locally as well as around the country. The vast majority of county lines are focused on Class A drug supply, but we are clear that through our Programme, police and programme partners are supported to take action against county lines drug supply in whatever form it may take, including illegal vapes.Through the County Lines Programme, we are also funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture, map the national threat of county lines and prioritise action against the county lines groups causing the most harm nationwide. The NCLCC has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue. We will continue working with NCLCC to further understand the illicit substances being distributed through the county lines model.Since the Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, 15,600 arrests and 8,000 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,100 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, meeting the HMG Drugs Strategy commitment of closing over 2,000 by April 2025 in half the time.

Norfolk Constabulary: Demonstrations

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers from Norfolk Constabulary have provided mutual aid to the Metropolitan Police for policing protests since 7 October 2023.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not record this information. However, we know that mutual aid has been provided to the Metropolitan Police from all other forces to support the policing efforts linked to wider protest activity since October 2023.Mutual aid is a daily occurrence across UK policing and operates at regional and national level.

Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence and Shoplifting

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) violence and abuse against shopworkers and (b) shoplifting.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities, and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 32% in the 12 months to September 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 34% in the year ending September 2023, showing that police are taking action.The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any worker, particularly those who provide a valuable service to the public, is never acceptable. We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting and violence and abuse against retail workers.In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.In 2022, we took the significant step to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.

Home Office: Press

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Chris Philp: To answer for the whole department would incur disproportionate cost.Newspapers and magazines that communications directorate and private office have subscribed to in the last three financial years are listed below.a) Newspapers:The Daily Express The Daily Mail The Daily Mirror The Daily Telegraph The Financial Times and FT.Com The Guardian The Sun The Times Sunday Times onlineb) Magazines:Campaign Magazine Harvard Business Review  PR Week online Private Eye Spectator The Economist The New Statesman

Question

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals from (a) Bahrain, (b) Kuwait, (c) Oman, (d) the United Arab Emirates, (e) Saudi Arabia, (f) Jordan and (g) Qatar have (i) applied for and (ii) been granted an Electronic Travel Authorisation since 1 February 2024.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have entered the UK with an Electronic Travel Authorisation since 22 February 2024.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office publishes data on Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in the `How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?` topic of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. In 2023 quarter 4 (October to December), there were 12,190 applications for ETA and 12,076 grants. All applications were for Qatari nationals. The latest data relates up to the end of December 2023. Statistics for Jan-Mar 2024, including information on the nationalities who require an ETA to enter the UK, will be published in the May edition of the Immigration System Statistics.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Asylum: Housing

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which local authorities his Department (a) owns and (b) rents housing for people seeking asylum.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse is of housing (a) owned and (b) rented by his Department for people seeking asylum.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has paid (a) Serco, (b) Clearsprings, (c) Mears and (d) other contractors to provide accommodation to asylum seekers since 2019.

Tom Pursglove: Data on the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area and the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Javanshir Feyziyev

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department and the National Crime Agency have made on securing the £5.6 million forfeiture against assets held by Javanshir Feyziyev and his family; whether the location of these funds has been identified; and what plans his Department has for the (a) management and (b) disposal of those funds.

Tom Tugendhat: The National Crime Agency applied for a forfeiture order on assets held by Javanshir Feyziyev which has been granted. The forfeiture amount of £5,630,994.19 has been deposited and disposed of.Funds recovered under the powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) are entered into the HO Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). ARIS is a discretionary funding model that’s objective is to provide agencies (prosecuting, investigating and enforcement) with incentives to use POCA powers to pursue asset recovery with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice. ARIS receipts are split 50:50 between operational partners involved in the asset recovery process, and central government.Further information on ARIS can be found at: Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2018 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

National Security

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects the next Annual Threat Update from the Director General of MI5.

Tom Tugendhat: MI5 assesses, investigates and works to disrupt threats to UK national security. The Director General of MI5 makes public statements, including on the changing threat picture, when he judges it necessary to do so.He last spoke publicly in October 2023, details of which are available on MI5's website (www.mi5.gov.uk). When the Director General next provides public update, the details will also be available on MI5's website.

Bank Services: Fraud

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require banks to compensate victims of fraud in circumstances in which anti-fraud banking protocols have not been followed.

Tom Tugendhat: To protect victims against authorised push payment (APP) scams, ten of the UK’s largest banks are currently signed up to the voluntary Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code. In 2022, £248m of losses to APP scams were reimbursed to victims under the commitments of this code.Further, through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the government legislated to require the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to introduce mandatory reimbursement for APP scams within the Faster Payment System, where 98% of APP fraud takes place. The PSR has confirmed that mandatory reimbursement will come into force in October 2024.

Organised Crime: Greater Manchester

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is allocated to (a) each Greater Manchester local authority and (b) any other organisation in Manchester city region to tackle child criminal exploitation.

Laura Farris: The Home Office does not hold information on funding allocations for tackling child criminal exploitation (CCE) for the Greater Manchester local authorities. However, we do provide national funding to some organisations in Greater Manchester to tackle county lines, CCE and serious violence.Through our Drug Strategy, we are providing a targeted investment of up to £145m over three years to bolster our County Lines Programme. This includes funding a dedicated county lines taskforce in Greater Manchester Police, as well as funding Catch22 to provide a specialist support and rescue service for under 25’s and their families in Greater Manchester to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement from county lines.The Home Office has provided £1.3million to fund The Children’s Society to deliver The Prevention Programme between 2023-25. Through the programme, a dedicated Northwest Prevention Officer works to support a range of partners to improve the response to multiple forms of exploitation including CCE in the North West region.To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has also invested over £20m to develop and run the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (with funding of over £4.38m in 2023-2024). We have also invested over £14.5m into the Grip programme (previously known as Surge) in Greater Manchester between 2019-23 for hotspot policing targeting serious violence, and a further £2.35m has been allocated for Grip in 2023-24.Furthermore, this financial year (2023-24), the government has made available £1m to the Young Women and Girls’ Fund, with Salford City Local Authority receiving £43,000. This funds a Young Women’s Worker who delivers specialist support and interventions to vulnerable young women and girls who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, gang-related exploitation or abuse.

Slavery

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of potential victims of slavery referred into the national referral mechanism who would be in scope to have their support removed were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract that would be in scope to have their support removed were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people under the age of 18 who have been referred into the national referral mechanism since July 2023 and who would be eligible to have their modern slavery support removed once they reach the age of 18 were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the extant Public Order Disqualifications (POD) for potential victims of modern slavery in cases where there is an immediate and real risk of re-trafficking will apply to those expected to receive PODs under the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

Laura Farris: The modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) address the serious and immediate threat to public order arising from the exceptional circumstances around illegal entry into the UK.The Public Order Disqualification in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was included in section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Section 29 of the 2023 Act amends section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act, expanding the cohort of individuals to whom the Public Order Disqualification applies. The 2023 Act also introduces, in sections 22-28, disqualifications from the NRM for those who are subject to the duty in section 2 of that Act, unless certain specific exemptions apply.The Government is working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures which will be published when the provisions are implemented.The published Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment sets out the monetised and non-monetised impacts of the legislation. The Impact Assessment did not produce monetised estimates of the number of individuals who would be in scope to have their support removed if sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 were enacted. As such, it did not produce monetised estimates for: potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract; individuals under the age of 18 who have been referred into the NRM since July 2023; or potential victims referred into the NRM. The Home Office is monitoring and evaluating the 2023 Act to monitor whether the measures introduced are meeting the objectives set and to provide insight on the process, impact and value for money of changes implemented.

Honour Based Violence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of honour based violence due to forced marriage there were in the (a) UK and (b) devolved Administration in each of the last three years.

Laura Farris: The Home Office holds data on the number of police recorded forced marriage offences in England and Wales. The data are given in the table. Police recorded offences in Northern Ireland and Scotland are the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government respectively.As with all police recorded crime figures, these data only cover offences that were reported to and recorded by the police. It is recognised that force marriage is a hidden crime and victims can be reluctant to bring them to the attention of police or other authorities. These data, therefore, are likely to only represent a proportion of the actual forced marriage offences committed.The joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) provides support and advice for victims, those at risk, and professionals, through its public helpline and inbox.We are working to increase reporting of this crime which is why the FMU has an extensive outreach programme to provide dedicated training and awareness raising sessions for professionals and communities across the country, including the police and social workers. In 2023, the FMU delivered training and awareness-raising activity to 3,656 police officers, social workers and other professionals. Victims and organisations are encouraged to report potential signs of forced marriage to professionals with safeguarding responsibilities.Police recorded forced marriage offences (xlsx, 20.6KB)

Treasury

Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what capital projects supporting shared and integrated education have been agreed between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive between 3 February and 24 February 2024.

Laura Trott: The release of UK Government capital funding to support shared and integrated education and housing is subject to individual projects being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government.HM Treasury continues to work with the Northern Ireland Executive on such projects.

Chronic Illnesses: Government Assistance

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support people with (a) Parkinson's and (b) other long-term conditions to cover everyday expenses.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support people with (a) Parkinson's and (b) other long-term conditions to cover everyday expenses.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Still nowhere near enough, published by Parkinson’s UK on 26 February 2024.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on the health of people with (a) Parkinson’s and (b) other long-term conditions.

Laura Trott: HM Treasury ministers have regular discussions with Department for Health and Social Care ministers on a range of issues, including meetings between the Chancellor and the Secretary of State The Government delivers a wide range of support to help those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s. If individuals incur extra costs whilst performing tasks associated with daily living, then they may qualify for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). This extra support can be worth over £8,900 per year and is due to increase from April by 6.7%. Depending on their needs, additional support for those with Parkinson’s may be available via local authorities who deliver adult social care services.

Bank Services: Small Businesses

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect small businesses from being de-banked.

Bim Afolami: The Government recognises the vital role SMEs play in fuelling economic growth, and it is important they can access the banking services they need. However, the decisions about what products are offered to individual businesses remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.Last year the Chancellor asked the FCA to collect evidence to help the Government understand where account closures and refusals are happening and why. The FCA published their initial findings on 19 September, and are doing further work with firms to verify the data and to better understand the reasons behind account refusals. In addition, the Treasury is continuing to engage with industry to understand any existing or emerging issues regarding bank account access for businesses.On 21 July, the Government published a policy statement setting out its plans to strengthen requirements relating to users’ payment service framework contract terminations. This will increase the minimum notice period in cases of contract termination to 90 days – giving customers more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service, or find a replacement service. Providers will also be required to spell out to the affected customer why they are terminating their contract – increasing transparency and aiding customers’ ability to appeal decisions. Both requirements will be subject to certain exceptions, including if to do so would be unlawful.

Seas and Oceans: Taxation

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the future revenue to the Exchequer from the lease of the seabed by the Crown Estate for offshore wind farms.

Gareth Davies: The Crown Estate returns its Annual Net Revenue Profit to the Exchequer for the benefit of the nation’s finances. The Crown Estate’s Net Revenue Profit for 2022-23 was £442.6 million (as noted on page 116 of its 2022-2023 annual report).Like any commercial business, The Crown Estate does not provide forecasts of its future profits.

Timesharing: Misrepresentation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the Financial Ombudsman Service tackle mis-sold timeshare complaints between 2014 and 2021.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his expected timetable is for all clients who were mis-sold timeshares between 2014 and 2021 to receive compensation.

Bim Afolami: In cases where a consumer took out a regulated financial product to purchase a timeshare, they may be able to make a compensation claim to the loan provider and may have recourse to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if the product was mis-sold. The FOS is an independent non-governmental body established to provide consumers and small businesses with a free, independent service that enables the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of disputes with financial services firms. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has no investigative powers of its own and cannot intervene in individual cases. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, which sets out the rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, states that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’.  Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2024-25 and it has set itself the target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within 5 months.

Wealth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken a gender equality impact assessment of the reforms to the Financial Promotion Order exemptions for high-net-worth individuals and sophisticated investors.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that (a) women and (b) ethnic minority individuals are not disproportionately affected by changes to the Financial Promotion Order exemptions for high-net-worth individuals and sophisticated investors.

Bim Afolami: The changes to the financial promotion exemptions that came into force on 31 January 2024 were subject to a public consultation which closed in March 2022.However, the Government recognises the significant concerns that have been raised recently about these changes. I met recently with the angel investing sector and listened carefully to the representations made, and the Government is working closely with the sector to address the concerns raised

Revenue and Customs: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an (a) estimate of the potential costs and (b) assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for HMRC's compliance functions.

Nigel Huddleston: The government regularly reviews the levels of funding provided to HMRC.The government is committed to tackling tax avoidance, evasion and all other forms of non-compliance. The UK’s tax gap is at an all time low at 4.8 per cent of theoretical tax liabilities in 2021-22, down from 7.5 per-cent in 2005-06. It is amongst the lowest worldwide.

Treasury: Press

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Gareth Davies: HMT’s expenditure on these areas is published as part of the departments on-going support of the transparency reporting programme. These can be viewed using the links below. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gpc-spend https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate funds to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal in the forthcoming Budget.

Laura Trott: The Chancellor will set out his Budget on 6 March.The Government has accepted the moral case for compensation and acknowledged that justice needs to be delivered for the victims. The Government will respond to the Inquiry's recommendations following the publication of the final report in May.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Internet: Disinformation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom has had recent discussions with telecommunications companies on tackling online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many cases of online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation Ofcom has dealt with since the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023; and if he will ask Ofcom to publish those figures regularly.

Saqib Bhatti: Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator. Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice. The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force. It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.

Emergency Calls

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring all mobile network operators to send regular text messages to customers stating that when they have no signal on their handset they can still seek to place an emergency 999 call.

Julia Lopez: On a typical handset, when there is no signal from any network, it is not possible to make emergency calls. If there is no signal from your regular mobile network provider, but there is signal from another mobile network provider, a 999 call will automatically roam onto another mobile network free-of-charge. To improve 4G coverage the Government agreed a deal with the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in March 2020 to deliver the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This agreement will see the Government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. Part of the programme will deliver new masts in total not-spot areas which will enable calls to 999 to be made through the mobile network for the first time in these areas. Certain mobile handsets have the capability to use satellite communications via third-party call centres which could allow 999 calls to be made even when a mobile signal isn’t available. This solution however is only available in a small number of handsets and is therefore only available to a small segment of the public.

Broadband: Housing

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of new-build housing developments that are served by more than one gigabit-capable network connection.

Julia Lopez: The Building etc. (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 came into force from 26th December 2022 to ensure that new homes in England are future-proofed and have access to the fastest broadband. The Regulations require a single connection to be facilitated for each new dwelling, however developers are free to approach as many network operators as they wish and to secure multiple connections on a voluntary basis. Thinkbroadband statistics for homes built in 2023 indicate that 98% of new homes developed across the UK have access to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP). We do not hold data on the new build developments that are served by more than one gigabit-capable network connection.

Research Councils and UK Research and Innovation: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in (a) UKRI and (b) each of the Research Councils have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.

Andrew Griffith: UKRI’s workforce, including the Research Councils, consists of 8,733 people. Of this total, 22 have the search terms requested in their job title. Not all of the roles are full time. The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.

Broadband: South Leicestershire

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much and what proportion of the contract awarded to CityFibre to provide hard-to-reach premises in Leicestershire and Warwickshire with access to gigabit-capable broadband will be spent in South Leicestershire constituency.

Julia Lopez: In February 2024, BDUK announced the signing of a £71.5 million Project Gigabit contract for Leicestershire and Warwickshire with the supplier CityFibre, to deliver lightning fast broadband to approximately 38,000 premises. Of these premises, approximately 6,500 are in the South Leicestershire constituency. The specific funding required to reach the premises in each area will depend on the costs involved for deployment, which can vary. However, it can be anticipated that approximately £11.5 million of the contract funding will be spent in South Leicestershire.

Broadband: Social Tariffs

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14701 on Broadband: Social Tariffs, if she will provide a breakdown of the households on a social tariff by (a) region and (b) nation.

Julia Lopez: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information regarding the take-up of social tariff by region and nation. Social tariffs are low-cost, commercial products offered by telecommunications providers on a voluntary basis, as such information regarding the geographical take-up of services would be commercially and market sensitive. Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecoms services, has a legal duty to monitor the affordability of telecommunications services and regularly publishes data on awareness and take-up of social tariffs on a UK-wide basis.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Advertising

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department and the predecessor Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Griffith: The Machinery of Government change in February 2023 created three new departments: the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Department Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and the Department of Business and Trade (DBT). The financial records for these organisations were split effective on 1 August 2023. We can only provide information for DSIT from then as any prior data will be combined with fBEIS. Following the Machinery of Government change, funding was not specifically allocated to Advertising. Analysis of transactions shows that £ 283,068.85 has been spent to date in DSIT.

Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what statutory powers the DVLA has to remove untaxed vehicles parked on residential streets.

Guy Opperman: Section 29 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 makes it an offence to use or keep an unlicensed vehicle on the public road. Where such an offence has been committed, Schedule 2A of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994, as well as the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997, provide the statutory powers to immobilise and remove vehicles.

Bicycles: Parking

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to ensure that cycle parking is (a) secure, (b) convenient and (c) sufficient.

Guy Opperman: It is for local authorities to decide on appropriate cycle parking provision that would best serve the needs of their local communities. These can be funded through a range of local transport and levelling up funding programmes. As a statutory consultee, Active Trave England makes recommendations for the provision of cycle parking in line with the standards set out in Local Transport Note 1/20 in developments it is consulted on. Alongside this, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has opened a consultation on the relaxation of ‘permitted development’ rights. These proposals include the right for homeowners to place a bike store in their front garden without the need for planning permission.

Road Traffic Offences: Fixed Penalties

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to allow oral appeals for Penalty Charge Notices for people with dyslexia.

Guy Opperman: Under Regulation 5 of The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022 drivers may make representations to the local authority issuing the Penalty Charge Notice in accordance with procedures put in place by the local authority. The regulations also allow for drivers and any representatives to attend adjudication hearings in person.In establishing such processes, local authorities have statutory duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Section 149 places a Public Sector Equality Duty on all public bodies, including local authorities and the independent adjudicator to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between persons who share relevant protected characteristics, including age and disability amongst others.It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure their processes, including appeals against Penalty Charge Notices are designed to comply accordingly and are accessible to everyone.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the second National Infrastructure Report, published on 18 October 2023, what progress his Department has made on responding to the recommendation to (a) review action on transport decarbonisation annually and (b) develop adaptive policies in case of a future shortfall.

Guy Opperman: The Government set out its plan for decarbonising transport in its 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which we have continued to build on since. We regularly review our transport decarbonisation policies to ensure we are on track to deliver our projected carbon savings and are committed to publishing our progress and reviewing our net zero pathway at least every five years.

ATOL: Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on ATOL protection status in Crown Dependencies.

Anthony Browne: The ATOL protection scheme is managed by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. Officials at the Department for Transport have regular discussions with the CAA on the operation of the ATOL scheme, including on the status of the regulations in the Crown Dependencies. DfT officials also engage with their counterparts in Crown Dependencies on relevant issues.

Department for Transport: Advertising

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Anthony Browne: The core Department spent the following on advertising in the last three financial years:Financial YearBudgetSpend20/21£0.7m£0.8m21/22£0.5m£1.73m22/23£0.6m£1.04mThe majority of the spend relates to advertising for various statutory purposes.

Heathrow Airport and M4: Air Pollution

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative estimate of the average contribution to air pollution of (a) vehicles on the M4 and (b) air traffic at Heathrow.

Anthony Browne: The Department for Transport has no plans to make a comparative estimate of the average contribution to air pollution from vehicles on the M4 and from air traffic at Heathrow.

Department for Transport: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in his Department have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Anthony Browne: As of 31st January 2024, there were four members of staff employed in the central Department (DfTc) which have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion and / or (d) gender. There were no job titles that include the words (e) LGBT or (f) race. Three of these roles relate to access to transport.

Active Travel: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department plans to provide to local authorities for active travel plans in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Transport is currently providing £70 million of dedicated funding to local authorities in 2023-24, for developing and delivering local infrastructure schemes and to boost capability and enable higher levels of walking and cycling. Funding for local authorities in 2024-25 is subject to final Departmental business planning decisions.

Railways: Catering

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require train companies to hold a public consultation before withdrawing the use of cash from catering services.

Huw Merriman: Catering services are a commercial matter for each train operating company. Train operators are responsible for considering the equality impacts of operational changes such as to catering payment methods, and are expected by the Department to take local needs into account.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Fay Jones: Nothing. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales does not employ staff directly. Our staff are employed by the Ministry of Justice.

Wales Office: Advertising

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Fay Jones: Nothing. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) has not budgeted or spent any money on advertising in the last three financial years.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Advertising

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office can confirm the following costs in respect of advertising costs over the last three financial years; YearBudget (£)Actual (£)Difference (£)2023-2443,00017,72525,2752022-2350,00049,8931072021-2241,00039,8181,182Total134,000 107,436 26,564

Scotland Office: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. The staff are employed by their parent departments primarily the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. The payment of the apprenticeship levy and access to any funding generated is the responsibility of the employing parent departments.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Julia Lopez: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has contributed £930,182.04 in apprenticeship levy fees between September 2021 and August 2023. During the same period, the department has spent £404,438.47 from its levy pot.To note, the period requested covers a significant period prior to the Machinery of Government change which took place in 2023 and DCMS still pays the apprenticeship levy on behalf of Building Digital UK as they currently remain on DCMS payroll.

UK Year of Service

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with the National Citizen Service Trust on ensuring that young people across all parts of the UK receive the opportunity to participate in the UK Year of Service in 2024-2025.

Stuart Andrew: DCMS is providing £750,000 in 2024/25 to co-fund the next cohort of the UK Year of Service alongside the National Citizen Service Trust, providing work placements for young people who are furthest from the labour market, giving them a chance to be set on a positive path towards long-term employment, education or training. The placements for the next cohort will be targeted in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber, and we will continue to look at how we can best support initiatives like this in the future.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Advertising

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, how much funding her Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Robert Courts: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) uses advertising to promote vacancies in the Department.The table below sets out what, in the last three years, the AGO budgeted for all communication and marketing and what it spent on advertising. 2021/222022/232023/24Budget for communication and marketing£26,500.00£35,000.00£40,000.00Spend on advertising£714.00£714.00£714.00Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).